Avalanche transceivers are a class of radio transceivers specialized to the purpose of finding people or equipment buried under avalanches..When turned on, the beepers transmits a signal about once per second. If someone is buried, everyone else in the party turns their transceivers on reception mode, and they can hear the signal from the buried victim's beeper.
Which transceiver should I buy?
You will firstly have to make a choice between analog and digital devices:
Analog
The original avalanche transceiver transmittes the pulsed signal as an audible tone to the user. The tone gets louder when the user is closer to the transmitting beacon.
Digital
Digital transceivers take the strength of the signal and the emitted dipole flux pattern and compute distance and direction to the buried transceiver.
If you are an occasionnal off piste rider, I would personnaly highly recommend you a digital one. My personnal choice goes to the Barryvox Pulse that I have used since last year.
8 Usefull tips:
- Take off batteries between two seasons and change them all for new one before the first ride of the winter
- Everyone in the party wears them under their jackets.
- Organise a group transceiver brief to check all batteries are full and beepers on before you start the day.
- Doesn't matter wich beeper you buy: just practice, practice, practice ! I often compare a search to a foreign language, if you do not practice, you simply loose it !
- Mr transceiver always wants to ride with its 2 friends: Miss shovel and Mr probe. Never separate them !
- Never ride off piste without your kit, whatever the conditions are.
- Take a radio or phone and enter the local emergency numbers.
- Check the local avalanche forecast before you leave.
